Category: Events

The School of Physiotherapy is the winner of the first annual Practice What You Preach Run/Walk! The crowd was wowed on Sunday by an impressive 50% participation rate from Physiotherapy’s First and Second Year classes as well as faculty. Thanks to Katherine Harman and Candice Stapleton who showed up and ran like champs to support the cause.

For winning this awesome event, the School will receive $1000 towards a healthy lifestyle initiative for the Health Professions end of campus!

On Tuesday, March 27th, Dalhousie hosted the first annual Impact Awards – a celebration of the contributions that students make to each other, Dalhousie and the greater community. Among the winners were a number of students from the Faculty of Health Professions:

Rising Star Award – presented to a first year student who has demonstrated an outstanding level of commitment, leadership, creativity and initiative to the DSU, as well as to the campus and community at large. Kyle Warkentin, Nursing.

Residence Life Leader Award – presented to students in residence leadership positions who have demonstrated an exceptional level of maturity and professionalism. Kathleen Nason, Pharmacy.

Certificate of Distinction – awarded to students who demonstrate above average contributions to campus life over the course of their university career. Michael Gfeller, Health and Human Performance (Kinesiology).

Gold D’s – awarded to students to recognize an elite level of involvement and acheivement in campus life over the course of their university career. Emma Leon, Nursing and Zachary Whitney, Nursing.

Best Departmental Society – presented to a society that has demonstrated a high level of consistency in event planning and delivery, high participation and attendance of their membership and sets an example for other student societies. Dalhousie Nursing Students Society.

Faculty Leadership Awards – presented to a student in good academic standing in each Faculty who exemplify the the highest level of passion for their discipline, take initative in creating new opportunities and encourage their pers to engage in faculty events. Winners positively impact other students in their Faculty and the reputation of their Faculty outside of Dalhousie. Megan Riordan, Pharmacy.

Board of Governors Awards – the top student awards at Dalhousie (four are awarded each year), recognizing students who contribute to the quality and vitality of the University, both through their academic accomplishments and involvement in campus life. Duane MacLeod, Nursing. (Read more about Duane’s acheivements in Dal News).

The Faculty of Health Professions, together with the rest of the University and broader health community, was shocked and saddened at the passing of George Turnbull on March 7, 2012. George had been a member of the School of Physiotherapy at Dalhousie since 1979 and for the past 10 years served as Associate Dean (Research and Academic) in the Faculty. There are few who were not touched by George, particularly newer faculty members whom he took under wing to mentor and foster their research development. As some of you may recall, a wonderful evening was organized about 18 months ago by the Parkinson Foundation to recognize George for his research and service contributions. And, we had a retirement function for George some months ago at which we were able to express our appreciation and admiration for his work. I am so pleased that these occurred while he was still in good health and could enjoy them as he did. We in the Dean’s Office will miss greatly George’s wise counsel and infectious humour, and we extend to his family our deepest condolences.

AHPRC has expanded their website. Have a look at: www.ahprc.dal.ca. In particular, we want to draw your attention to a new research project portal that contains educational materials aimed at improving daily oral care for older persons living in long term care.

The website is a vital knowledge translation tool resulting from the NSHRF-funded research project “Brushing Up on Mouth Care” led by Dr. Mary McNally, Faculty of Dentistry and AHPRC Research Associate. Collaborators from the Faculty of Health Professions include: Karen McNeil (Coordinator), Ruth Martin-Misener and Sandra Crowell.

The educational materials available on the website are designed for care providers and include: a series of oral care cards, oral health assessment forms, fact sheets containing information on various oral health conditions and products, videos and more.

From business to private practice, from coaching to research, alumni of Dalhousie’s kinesiology program brought various professional perspectives to campus earlier this month at the Department of Kinesiology’s “Kinnections” event.

Kinnections was organized and hosted by kinesiology professor John Kozey, who introduced the five guests as Dalhousie alumni who have all taken their degree in different directions for success, helping illuminate the many options available to students when it comes time to graduate.

There were several speakers and when the event was over, students took the time to chat with each of them. Second-year kinesiology students Erica Linde and Cynthia Ly both felt the event was worthwhile, and that they would attend again in the future.

Roger Montigny with his daughter, Kendra, who graduated from Dalhousie Pharmacy in 2008

Roger Montigny (BSc (Pharmacy)’74) was one of those rare breeds – a person who lived passionately by his convictions and sought to make the world a better place through his career as a pharmacist.

When Roger passed away in December 2010, he left behind a grieving family and community. To honour his love of pharmacy and education, Roger’s family decided to establish the Roger Montigny Memorial Fund at Dalhousie with a gift of $25,000. The purpose of the fund is to provide an annual award to a third-year pharmacy student from Prince Edward Island who has demonstrated a passion for pharmacy and an interest in pursuing community pharmacy.

“The family wanted to leave a legacy for someone who has made a difference in the profession of pharmacy,” says his wife, Belinda. “We knew this award would be Roger’s prescription for future students.”

Barbara Clow and Linda Snyder, the Executive and Assistant Directors of the Atlantic Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health (ACEWH), were invited to present a pre-conference workshop at the Nov 28-Dec 1 SAHARA (Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS Research Alliance) Conference in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The event was organized by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC). Together with CIDA-sponsored youth interns and South African colleagues, they led sessions on sex- and gender-based analysis and practice and HIV/AIDS research. While in South Africa, Dr. Clow also oversaw the final signing of the renewal of a Memorandum of Understanding with HSRC.

The ACEWH and Dalhousie University have had a long standing partnership with the Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa. In 2000, ACEWH and the Commonwealth Secretariat in London,UK, initiated the idea of developing an International Institute on Gender and HIV/AIDS in order to raise awareness and deepen understandings of the role of gender in the HIV pandemic. The initiative resulted in the 2004 partnering with the HSRC. Since then, MOUs have facilitated capacity building on issues relating to gender and HIV/AIDS through internships and faculty exchanges, collaboration on research grant proposals, conference proceedings and publications. CIDA interns have been placed with HSRC in various South African cities since 2005. The next call for interns will be announced in April 2012.

For more information about work undertaken by SAHARA and the Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa, please visit www.sahara.org.za and www.hsrc.ac.za. Contact information for the Atlantic Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health, www.acewh.dal.ca, email is acewh@dal.ca and 494-7850.

On March 9th, 2012 from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., students, faculty and staff from Dalhousie, Saint Mary’s, Mount Saint Vincent University and Nova Scotia Community College, will once again come together at Dalplex for the Metro Universities Relay For Life in support of the Canadian Cancer Society.

For the past two years, the Metro Halifax university community of students, faculty and staff have united in the fight against cancer with incredible results. In 2011, surpassing all goals, the Metro Universities Relay For Life raised over $60,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society – more than doubling the previous year’s total.

The Canadian Cancer Society Relay For Life is more than a fundraiser. It is an opportunity for family, friends and colleagues to celebrate cancer survivors, remember loved ones lost to cancer, and fight back against cancer.

During the overnight non-competitive relay, teams of 10 take turns walking around a track lit by luminaries honouring or remembering loved ones who have been touched by cancer. It is a twelve hour event full of heart-warming ceremonies, fitness activities, live local entertainment, and much more!

An important component of Relay is the Survivor Reception and Victory Lap – the first lap of the night. The Victory Lap truly is a celebration of those cancer Survivors who inspire us every day. Whether you are 1 year old or 99 years old … 1 day or 50 years cancer free…. all survivors are invited to join the fight.

This video was created for the Bold Ambitions campaign – a major part of which is the construction of a new facility specifically designed for inter-professional training – and features some of our faculty members (including Dean Webster and Dr. Sandy Rennie) and students. Learn more about the Bold Ambitions campaign at: http://boldambitions.dal.ca/novel-health-care-education.html

In celebration of October’s “Healthy Workplace Month”, Dalhousie introduced an annual Healthy Workplace Award. The competition was open to all units in the University, who would be judged on their commitment to six dimensions of wellness including:

Physical – nutrition, fitness

Emotional – deal with emotions; share feelings in a healthy and meaningful way